Posts tagged batch 9
A Nostalgic-Romantic Movie Guide: The Best Romance Films through the Year

The cultural impact love has had on our world urged us to create some of the most powerful and beautiful art. As we continue to nurture the eternal power that romance has over us, it is natural that hundreds of movies celebrating love come out every year since, well, since we started making movies. More movies are added to the list of romances, which makes it that much harder to choose one to watch. Through this guide, I will highlight the monuments of the genre through each decade and hopefully make it easier to choose your next romantic watch–or spark the urge to revisit a favorite!

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Samsha Massonbatch 9
Movie Recommendations According to Your Favorite Book

As more and more of us are getting into reading books again–or even better, have been avid readers since before the quarantine–we are starting to revisit the thrills of a good read like we never did before. But once we’ve fallen in love with the setting, plot, and characters of a book, it can be tricky to let go of it or find something similar in any kind of content out there, including movies. This article will help you find these few films that precisely capture the beauty of our favorite books.

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Samsha Massonbatch 9
Spoiled Appetite: The Role of Desire in Fresh, Raw, and It Follows

The new release Fresh (2022) makes waves at Sundance and at home with a thrilling and bone-chilling story. Taking on modern dating, and not making it any less nerve-wracking, the film follows a young adult whose new boyfriend might not be as great as he seems. Join me as I explore desire and sexuality within this film and similar past indie features. Spoilers ahead! Fresh is available to stream on Hulu.

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Natalie Bakwinbatch 9
Why Are All The ‘Good’ Movies Sad?

With the release of more and more genre-bending films, the question is being asked: why are so many of the critically acclaimed films so sad? Comedy or lightheartedness doesn’t seem to have found its way into mainstream awards shows. Does that mean it isn’t good? Misogyny towards tastes of female audiences dismisses the ‘chick flick’, while performances are taken much more seriously when an actor is required to put themselves through emotional difficulty to achieve something award-winning. Some of the most beloved films weren’t respected by critics upon release–why then do we love them?

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Ruby Boxbatch 9
Is Hollywood in a Good Movie Making Slump?

Nothing beats the experience of going to the movie theatre. Whether you are by yourself, on a first date, or simply going with a group of friends; each scenario spreads the power of film as an art form. In a post-COVID world where movie theatres are yearning for consumers, have streaming services taken over this beloved venture?

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Ella Warnerbatch 9
Anna Sorokin Isn’t Special

After Netflix released Inventing Anna, many young people began idolizing Anna Sorokin instead of seeing her for what she truly is: An abuser. Not only is the idolization of Sorokin problematic, but it shows us that our romanticization of her and other female villains has become downright dangerous to ourselves and to others.

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Lauren Bartonbatch 9
Bridgerton Season 2: Flipping the Script on South Asian Stereotypes

From acerbic aunties with thick accents to geeks with no sex appeal, South Asians in Hollywood have been known to play either of the two and maybe the occasional cab driver. But not very often does a tanned skin South Asian beauty get to take center stage and have a main character moment like Kate Sharma on Bridgerton. Watching the unapologetically Brown lead single-handedly squash stereotypes about South Asian culture made me wish I had seen more representation and inclusion of my culture in Hollywood as a teenager so I could have spared myself some of the internalized prejudice and self-loathing.

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Miette Dsouzabatch 9
The Batman (2022) Review

The Batman is finally here and fans are eager to see director Matt Reeves’ darker and grittier take on Gotham and its inhabitants. Starring Robert Pattinson as a more brooding and emo version of the iconic superhero, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, and Colin Farrell as Penguin, The Batman is already one of the biggest films of the year.

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Raidah Islambatch 9
In Defense of Elliot: Euphoria’s Freshest Face

While very few new characters were introduced in Euphoria Season 2, Rue and Jules's new friend/more-than-a-friend Elliot was the most divisive. Many viewers found their own ways to tear him down and point to him as the source of much of Season 2’s messiness. However, if you consider the patterns of other characters and the bigger picture, Elliot was fairly inoffensive and–at times–likable.

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Ruby Boxbatch 9
Polarizing Pictures: Films that Left the Audience Split

There are many films that we might call polarizing—the ones the audience finds themselves split on, those “you either love it or hate it” type of films. Well, that just makes cinema all the more interesting. This article presents a list of films considered to be polarizing or divisive. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide where you stand when it comes to these films.

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Raidah Islambatch 9
How to Celebrate the Oscars

Hollywood's favorite day of the year––Oscar Sunday––is rapidly approaching! Here is the best way to celebrate this day with your closest friends, including some competition! Grab some of your favorite unhealthy snacks, and ten dollars, and meet at the ballot box!

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Ella Warnerbatch 9
Movies About Making Movies

Films about making films are about as weird as an advertisement advertising an ad or a book about another book. Super weird but films about making films are actually some of the greatest ways I've seen a story being told. Here's a deep dive into the few movies with this unique storyline.

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Alaya Footebatch 9
New Release: The Worst Person in the World

“I feel like a spectator in my own life,” Julie states. Struggling through her 20s, Julie traverses romance, her family, and professional pursuits all without the knowledge of her true wishes nor purpose. The Worst Person in the World presents adulthood and all its quirks with masterful cinematic delight, featuring dancing, messiness, psychedelics, grief, and jealousy. This playful yet sincere film offers solace to those of us wearily watching our youth dwindle away and facing the pressure of real adulthood–no training wheels included.

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Natalie Bakwinbatch 9
A Tribute to James Ivory: King of Screenplays and Oldest-Ever Oscar Winner

Part of the legendary filmmaking duo Merchant Ivory, James Ivory is well known for his beautiful decorous period pieces and flawless literature adaptations. Also behind two huge monuments in LGBTQ+ cinema; Maurice (1987) and Call Me By Your Name (2017), Ivory powerfully shaped the way modern cinema approaches representations of the community on screen. This article will highlight some of Ivory’s best work, from touching period dramas about class oppression and timeless coming-of-age stories to the most heart-wrenching screenplays.

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Samsha Massonbatch 9
Antonioni’s Trilogy on Modernity and Its Discontent

How has modernity been affected by the changing mores of sexuality, psychology, and enterprise? By examining how discontent and modernity is expressed in fashion, learn more about the critically-acclaimed trilogy by Michelangelo Antonioni. When goals of pleasure and technology are driving social milieu, romance and passion are left in the dust. Antonioni’s Trilogy explores the contemporary malaise in serene bourgeois settings where existentialist subjects navigate modernity.

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Natalie Bakwinbatch 9